


Five Times We Fell (In Love)

by smolder



Series: Nostalgia [15]
Category: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2013-07-13
Packaged: 2017-12-19 05:43:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/880103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolder/pseuds/smolder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prompt was: "<i>five AUs (in this case, five different settings/time periods) where they would have met and fallen in love".</i></p><p> </p><p> I chose Audrey and Vinny because they are my Disney OTP and have sadly little fic written for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First AU: Fantasy

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. Atlantis is owned by Disney.

Vinny isn't the most emotional person in the world but he loves his job. Loves the danger, loves the flying - most of all though, if there is one thing he loves about riding atop a dragon for a living is the _fire_.  
  
He knows it should be all about duty and protecting people - has been lectured incessently about it - but there is a childish glee fills him when he feels his mount inhale and can smell that sulfur. Because he knows what comes next - the explosion of light and sound and heat and......  
  
....just joy. _Boom._ It's wonderful.  
  
He hears another sound over it this time though, somehow mixing with it (somehow managing to make it all even better, something he had thought impossible) - a laugh of pure joy right before Audrey's arms tighten around him. It's not out of fear, he can tell that almost instantly because it's a rough bear hug, conveying her utter happiness and excitement in the moment.  
  
It gives Vinny the confidence then to do what he hadn't dared during the whole flight from town to the firing field - he turns his head enough to look at her. Because he has alwasy known Audrey was tough and had worked hard to get a name for herself among the smithies until she was almost as well known as her father had been (as well known as her sister was amongst the knights) - and the fact that she was a woman simply didn't matter in the face of her skill. But this wasn't really about that.  
  
Vinny didn't care how tough she was, didn't care that she was a woman - well, he _did_ but not for any reasons concerning her skill with a hammer. It was because he....well, he _liked_ her. A lot. Had for a while.  
  
But, he had had relationships go bad before because of his work. Very very bad. But he knew he couldn't leave it - for _anyone_. Would end up resenting anyone who asked him to. This feeling he got, when he looked out at the fire - it was _a part_ of him.   
  
So, Vinny had to make sure anyone he wanted to try to have a relationship with - especially anyone as important to him as Audrey - understood this part of him now so it didn't lead to any hurt feelings later.   
  
He never wanted to hurt Audrey.  
  
But looking at her face in this moment hurts in a different way. She is smiling brightly, her dark eyes reflecting the glow of the still burning fire. He can feel her body pressed so _very close_ to his, feel the tickle of her thick hair on his neck, from where it fell over onto his shoulder during the flight.  
  
He swallows hard and can feel her watching, can feel the dragon coast along on wind currents, the rhythmic movement of muscles underneath them both as wings move.  
  
"I love fire," she leans forward and whispers softly into his ear, in a low voice, like it's a confession, but paired the tone with a mischievous smile. And he doesn't know it it's the words or the feel of her breath against his ear lobe (or the fact that she presses her body even more firmly against him as she says it) that make him shudder - something he knows she must feel. And looking at her, sharing this with her, he is ok with that.  
  
More than ok.  
  
And he thinks it's safe to say that she's alright with his job too.   
  
But before they land, they blow up another target - to much cheering and laughing from his companion.  
  
Once on the ground she kisses him and it makes Vince feel like a dragon himself - capable of flight and joyous destruction.


	2. AU the Second: Military

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. Atlantis is owned by Disney.

She gives the next guy the finger, as he approaches with two beers in hand. The cockily smiling man looks startled at this abrupt response but something about her unamused countenance lets him know that she was serious and some of the training they all did every day went to some good use when he did a swift about face leaving the way he came. The rest of the bar looked to be having a party anyway - she was sure that beer wouldn't go to waste.  
  
Audrey took a long pull of the drink she already had in front of her and slamed it back on the table in frustration.  
  
Her drinking companion for the night, who had been flipping a match between his fingers meditatively as he watched the latest guy go with an unreadable expression, looks back at her sharply at the sound, his fringe of black hair ruffling a bit at the sudden movement.  
  
"You alright, Aude?" he asks, a frown on his face - and a few shots in making that accent of his a bit thicker.  
  
"Yeah, Vin. Fine," she says, smiling tightly, taking her cap off and trying to run a hand through her hair - sighing and giving up on it when her fingers just get tangled amongst the curls.  
  
"You sure, Aude?" Vinny leans forward from where he had been slumped in his seat. Staring at her hard, concern plain on his face.  
  
And he is almost right to be concerned - there have been problems in the past.  
  
The teasing that had started as soon as she arrived and had never gotten to a dangerous point. But being one of only a handful of women, on this secluded base, she knew there might be a bit of trouble - but she had been assured before she signed the contract that amongst this specialist group, where her eclectic mechanical skills from jeeps to tanks to aircraft would be needed, she would be accepted.   
  
So, when simple ribbing that she was used to from being a woman in a primarily man's field her whole life, started edging towards harassment, she had gotten angry - angry that she had left a pretty good life, a good job in Detroit in her family's shop for _this_. But, Admiral Sinclair had stepped in before Audrey even had a chance to beat sense into a few of the fools - teach them a lesson with lots of bruises.   
  
The Admiral had been thoroughly unamused by the conduct of her people though. The men somehow tended to forget she was a woman - although Audrey didn't know _how_ , Helga did nothing to hide the fact whatsoever - and she beat into their brains through many days of drills (under her sharp blue eyes and a raised perfectly groomed eyebrow that instantly cowed anyone who dared to try to complain) the capability of women simply by _showing_ them. By doing the drills beside them easily, surpassing them gracefully while barking orders on those that lagged - without breaking a sweat.   
  
Because she was _better._ And it didn't matter if she was a man or a woman - Helga was just _better._   
  
Their group didn't hire people here simply because they felt like it. They hired them because they were _good_ , regardless of their sex. And people had somehow forgotten that - gossip had been had been spread and group mind had kicked in. So, it had been a lesson that was necessary to be _shown_ instead of just _told_ (the words, so easily ignored in favor of the ones whispered) and the Admiral had done so.   
  
It had been wonderful to behold.   
  
And Vin had been there right beside her the whole time to behold it. Had bribed someone and gotten popping corn for them both that cooked super fast over a fire that burned hot - slightly worrying with it's pale colors. It certainly hadn't used any means she was familiar and she knew better than to ask about it. Vin would just smirk at her - that matchstick sliding to the right with the movement.  
  
(She did end up badgering him about it later. Audrey likes his voice, liked his excitement - how animated he could get - when he talked about explosions. Thought maybe she could lead him there from accelerants.  
  
She had been right, of course.)  
  
He was always like that though - was always there for her. Even from the beginning Vin never treated her like most of the other guys did, never talked down to her, expected her to be weak, bad at her job, or want to go home. He treated her with respect - treated her just like a normal person.   
  
And it was so fucking refreshing.  
  


At first that was _it_. She was just glad that he wasn't a shit like the others, that at least someone here was decent to her (well a bunch of people where, honestly - the doctor, the cook, and the linguist went out of their way to make her feel welcome. Really the only problems were a few bad apples that were the most vocal and tried there hardest to spoil the whole batch). But there was something interesting about him and...well, she was lonely. Wanted a friend here. So, she reached out and was pleasantly surprised not to be rebuffed for her efforts.   
  
And it was wonderful to find that underneath his, somewhat forbidding, sarcastic exterior, Vin was an incredibly warm person. A man that loved to make things go _"boom"_ but wrote his family at least once a week. Even planned to go join their flower business when he retired, as he had once admitted to her after a few too many. ( _Although that had been a bit hard to pick out amidst a bizzare ramble about Prom to be honest_ ). He was content to sit and organize his explosives and listen when she just needed someone to _be there_ while she paced the small cubicle of a bedroom and ranted about the stupidity of the patriarchal system.   
  
So, yeah - she's not fine. And there are a million and one reasons she won't date these guys who were treating her like shit a month ago but seem to think she has the memory of a goldfish or just want want to be with someone so badly she is willing to forget it all. (Poor things don't realize that Ramirez's are more likely to hold grudges like elephants.) But it's hard for her to look at Vin and tell him that the main reasons she will never even consider a single one of _them_ is because she is in love with _him._  
  
 _Love._ Fuck - what a word. What a fucking word. But, she doesn't deny it within the safety of her own mind. It was quick. Sudden even. Totally unlike her. And she both adores and hates that with everything that she is. Because she isn't supposed to be that kind of girl - especially _here,_ where she is constantly having to prove herself to people - so it's almost _fitting_ that it's _here_ that she finds the one guy that has ever made her feel this way.  
  
" _Aude?_ " he asks a third time, more alert and clearly worried now. His gloved hand is on her shoulder and it's weight steadies her, seems to clarify everything.  
  
"Want to get out of here?" she asks calmly, placing her hand over his on her shoulder.   
  
He looks at her carefully, face so very blank suddenly, studying her hand solidly over his like it is a bomb about to go off - and it is only a flash of a smile - so quick that if she wasn't watching Audrey would have missed it. But, she _was_ watching (Vin has taught her the beauty of the quick flash of light and now she keeps wanting to see it in everyday things. In him, in _them_ ) and so she isn't surprised when he stands, keeping their hands touching, and instead simply feels a pleased warmth that spreads through her steadily when he intertwines their fingers and she stands as well, smiling up at him.  
  
One handed, she snags her almost forgotten cap, shoving it on her head. They leave the bar and the sudden quiet is almost as jarring as the noise inside was - they stop a few steps away from the building. Vin is looking at her and with such carefulness and gently - so very gently - he tucks a bit of her hair behind her ear.   
  
His deliberateness, his carefulness, make her blush. Remind her that he is still wearing gloves - make her think of what the feel of skin against skin will be like.  
  
For now though they are both rather tipsy - and better yet, they know it. There won't be denying of this step in their relationship in the morning - they're not those kind of people. But, the most this night will bring is a good night kiss at her door.  
  
So, she gives a content sigh and cuddles against his side. He automatically, leans back heavily against her - trusting her, as an equal, and it makes her smile.  
  
Together they make their way to the barracks.


	3. And the Third AU: Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. Atlantis is owned by Disney.

Kida gives the signal - a blatant and aggressive battle cry, but then again their Captain has never been one for _subtle_ \- and they all charge.  
  
Their ship might be considered more of a grey vessel - moral speaking - by some, but that didn't mean that that they didn't all have a strict code they stood by. And if one of their own was taken, they would do whatever it took to get them back.  
  
It was just an added insult that it was Milo - their translator and the Captain's mate - who was captured this time.   
  
The people of this world had tried to hold him ransom, tried to use him to take their wonderful ship (their <i>home</i>, their <i>livelihood</i>) Atlantis from them all - but Kida had been hard and unrelenting. (Milo, sitting clearly visible in the view screen - tied to a chair of course - was utterly calm as he watched the interactions. He had no doubts in his wife, no fear for his safety.) She had ignored their demands and told the ransomers to either let him go or their world would begin to crumble.   
  
They hadn't believed her.   
  
Audrey smiles darkly at the memory - she feels little sympathy for people who would try to take her home, who would kidnap her family. Feels no guilt over what happened next.  
  
They started taking out bridges first - wonderful, huge explosions that she can tell Vinny had fun with, that she had been able to see from where the ship was coasting amongst the clouds.   
  
Then _she_ had got to work on the main waterways - no use wasting good weapons when a bit of particular messing around with controls can completely screw system just as effectively.  
  
Vin and her teamed up when they went after the power grid - Helga providing cover and taking out anyone who tried to interfere with their tampering.   
  
It took only days before a white flag of surrender was waving over the town - the only means of communication people could figure out with so much mass confusion going on. And just as she was previously cold, Kida could play the part of benign peaceful leader now. Was perfectly willing to take their surrender in return for her mate - and the populous was more than willing to point out where the hardliners were still holed up. Were eager to go _with_ them to ferret them out, to do _anything_ to appease this white haired, blue eyed, Captian of this insane but powerful clan of the legendary Atlantis.

  
But that was when the benign smile turned vicious - and after thanking them for their assistance she assured the people this was a matter for _her_ people, _her_ crew.   
  
And Kida didn't even have to give them a talk, a look - she raised her fist, let out that loud battle cry and took off running - an they were all their with her. She knew they would be.  
  
It was an oddly specific happiness that Audrey gets in these moments - right before a fight, when she is able to run with such wild abandon. There are such long stretches in space when Audrey feels cooped up inside the ship no matter how much she loves Atlantis. No matter how much it feels like her own child sometimes with the time and effort, blood and sweat, she has put into it's care and maintenance.   
  
It is just so good to let loose sometimes - they turn down an alleyway and she sees Vinny to her right and gives him a quick smile before her mind settles back on the fight - hands tightening on her crow bar reflexively (much easier for her to use in close quarters than the gun strapped to her hip).  
  
Ahead of her she sees the door and Sweet goes ahead and shoulders it open for them all - it gives way easily behind his massive frame. The first guy near the door has a gun but seems wide-eyed and utterly surprised by the sudden entrance and isn't able to use it before Kida is right there to knock him out and away in two swift moves of her staff (a traditional weapon that might seem odd with anyone else - but their Captain was as unique as her crew).  
  
The other guy's guarding the place are similarly over armed but untrained. Audrey has to admit, some are pretty big though - but they're no match for a team who has been through space together for years and knows how to work in a group. Helga almost seems bored as she kicks a man twice her size in the head probably a few more times than necessary.  
  
They are finished far quicker than she espected and Kida, Helga, Sweet, Vinny, and her scan the room (Mole and Packard were keeping watch of the ship) before moving on to the next. It's empty and so are many of the others - it takes calling out Milo's name many times (falling into an almost call and response game she remembers from her childhood) before they find the small closet that was being used as a makeshift temporary prison.  
  
But Milo is _alright_ \- Sweet looks him over quickly and only finds a few bruises here or there and determines that he's probably a bit dehydrated. But mostly, he's fine.  
  
As the group leaves, making their way back to the ship (after stripping all of the guards of their weapons and valuables - it makes for a pretty good haul, all said), Audrey watches the way Kida and Milo interact. The way Kida is simultaneously scolding and fretting over him, and Milo just smiles tiredly at her. The love so clear between them.  
  
Vin, who has been walking beside her, casually reaches out for her hand - his gloves are off (stuffed in his back pocket) - and she can feel the smooth metal of his plain wedding band. It makes her smile. Hers' is on a chain under her shirt - working with grease and other even less pretty fluids on a regular basis made her wary of wearing it on her hand (and she had never gotten quite in the habit of constantly wearing gloves that her husband had).   
  
She looks up at the dark sky, dotted with unfamiliar consolations, and then over at the very familiar face beside her - all bushy dark eyebrows and mustache. Audrey stops walking then and reaches out both hands to grab the sides of his face and pulls him into a kiss. Startled at first, Vinny is quick to reciprocate.  
  
As they break apart, panting a bit, she hears Sweet catcall playfully, Helga sigh, and turns her head in time to see Milo blush violently and Kida giggle.   
  
Vin just pulls her against his side and Audrey loops and arm around his middle feeling perfectly content.


	4. Fourth AU Goes to: Superheroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. Atlantis is owned by Disney.

“ _Sooo_ ,” he drags it out “are you a good guy or a bad guy.”  
  
“Well, I’m not a _guy_ at all – as you very well know,” she tossed a smirk over her shoulder, and is rewarded for her efforts in flirtation with one in return from the darkly clad man slumped on a bench in her small, well stocked, workshop. “As for good or bad. Well, you see now - I _would_ tell you….”  
  
“Of course,” he interrupts her, with a sardonically raised eyebrow.   
  
“…but I haven’t decided myself – the day isn’t over yet after all,” she finishes as if he hadn’t said anything. Then, since she has cleared enough space on her work table, she turns to face him, reaching out demandingly. “Now hand over those gauntlets – you dented them in that last skirmish, didn’t you? The Hudson Job. And it’s the left trigger that’s been giving you trouble, right?”  
  
“No, the left,” he says as he takes them off and hands them over, and it is in such a deadpan tone that she has to look up and see that look in his eye, through the mask that covers his upper face (which she has never understood the effectiveness of when he has such a distinctive mustache and haircut), to know he is joking with her. She just gives a snort and pulls on her own “mask” - a far more practical thing, than the bit of fabric – her welding goggles.  
  
And this is where her little “gift” is useful: fire ignites instantly to all five fingertips on her right hand but with just the slightest bit of concentration, she adjusts the temperature and narrows the focus until only her index finger has a white-hot thin bit of light as powerful as any welder on the market.   
  
With practiced ease, concentration, and steady hands, she gets to work.   
  
Vinny, like a handful of others, like _her_ – is unaffiliated. It’s the reason they both have known each other’s real names from their first meeting – she doesn’t have a “superhero” name and he’ll take a new moniker for each new job anyway. And it’s also probably why he likes to tease her so much about whether she is “good” or “bad” on any given day, they both find the entire idea of having to choose sides ridiculous.   
  
Neutral some call them, mercenary is the terms others use. But she has seen no reason to tie herself to any one group when she finds them all kind of silly and has found that there is decent money to be had from both sides for discrete, quick and competent work.   
  
But unlike, Vinny – who, with the help of the gauntlets (which fine tune his control of his powers) can agitate particles to make explosions – hers don’t work at a distance. The flames, though capable of becoming extremely hot, only project right above her skin. Because of this, she had never gone out on “missions”, mostly she fixes things for people.   
  
Audrey doesn’t particularly fret this – she’s made it work for her. It’s been great for delicate mechanical work and being able to get in area’s normally difficult for a torch. Plus, in a rather juvenile way, part of her has always found it very cool…because, hey, _fire_.

It’s over half an hour later when she stops for a break. Standing she stretches her arms high above her head, hears her back crack, and lets both hands flare briefly before going out – a satisfied sigh leaving her at the feeling of it.  
  
She still has a ways to go on the trigger but the dents are out and that makes it a good time to take a break in her book. And checking the clock, it’s dinner time anyway.  
  
Pulling off her goggles she glances over to the side of the room, frowning when she notices Vin is gone. But then the smell in the air registers to her and she has to fight down a grin.  
  
Opening the door from the garage led to a flight of stairs - and her apartment at the end. She took it at a slight jog, and when Audrey reached the kitchen, her delighted smile would not be suppressed when she saw him humming to the radio and stirring a saucepan.  
  
Walking the last few steps, Audrey wrapped her arms around Vinny from behind (noticing absentmindedly that he didn’t startle – even a bit and must have registered her entrance, at least on some level).   
  
She peered over his shoulder before asking, “Whatcha making, Vin?”  
  
“Wasn’t much “making” to it,” she could feel the chuckle rumble in him. “You already had ravioli in your freezer and sauce in the cabinet.”   
  
“Still,” she says, in a definitive tone and kisses the side of his neck before breaking her hold on him to walk over to the sink and wash up.  
  
“And here I was afraid you wouldn’t remember,” she mutters, mostly to herself as she squirts soap onto her hands.  
  
“Of course I remembered, Aude,” he says, in an odd tone of voice that makes her turn her head sharply and look at him across the small kitchen. The silly mask was gone now and his eyes were sharp. “It’s been a year,” he states with none of the blasé attitude normally common in his manner.   
  
And it had. They’d had bad spells, during that time of course (all couples fought – and when powers were connected to emotions that was dangerous and both of them could be incredible stubborn) and their lives were sometimes impossibly chaotic but they had been making it work.  
  
“It has,” she says, in solemn agreement, and their eye contact becomes an almost physical thing. But there is something about just saying it, so simply, acknowledging it in this moment - just looking at him with that spoon raised and dripping red splotches on the floor while she stands there, her hands (long since clean) getting cold under running water – that makes her feel almost giddy.  
  
It’s a wonderful feeling made doubly so because she can see how it is shared – recognizes that mirrored look in Vinny and therefor has no fear whatsoever being the first one to say, “I love you.”  
  
Because she knows, even as she makes that jump that Vinny will be there to catch her. That it isn’t really even a _jump_ – nothing so dramatic - just reaching out a hand and having him reach back.   
  
And he does, her declaration sits in the air only long enough for him to register it before he says, “God, Aude – I love you too. You know I do.”  
  
And she had.  
  
The water is finally shut off and the burners on the stovetop are as well…….but dinner is postponed until a bit later.  
  
Quite a bit later actually – but they’ve had a year and, with luck on their side, they’ll have many more.


	5. The Fifth and Last AU: Flower Shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. Atlantis is owned by Disney.

The bell over the door jangles and, without looking up from the book he is studying intently, Vinny intones in a bored monotone, "Welcome to Santorini Flower Shop. How can I help you?"  
  
And then there is dead silence - the sort of quite that makes him tense with odd expectation.  
  
He looks up with trepidation, only to see his lovely (and heavily pregnant) fiancee glaring at him. Now that she has his attention, she ignores the flower displays and walks the rest of the way up to the counter and leans against it to talk to him.  
  
"They sent me home," she mutters darkly, her arms crossed, still clad in grease-streaked, work overalls with "Audrey" sewn across the breast pocket.  
  
"You are only about a month away now, Aude," he says carefully and she gives a harump. His eye automatically drop to the bump though, clearly visible despite her baggy clothing - the life they made together.  
  
"Plenty of women work all the way up until their water breaks," she insists stubbornly. "Dad's just being overprotective."  
  
Vinny doesn't say anything to this. He didn't feel he could insist - it wasn't his body after all, and he's always trusted Audrey to know herself, know her limits in the past. But watching her go to work each day as her stomach grew had started to worry him because he knows how ingrained it is for her to get her hands in whatever engine is there - even when the doctor has said to "take it easy". It's just not Aude's way to sit still when there is work that needs doing right in front of her.   
  
And so he feels almost stupidly _thankful_ that Mr. Ramirez, as owner of the garage was able to lay down the law, in some small respect (that was almost entirely out of fatherly - and future grandfatherly - concern), and send her home.   
  
Or he just sent her away from the temptation of mechanical tinkering - and she came to him. Which counts as home, really.  
  
"You want to get changed in the back?" he offers instead. "Must be hot in your coveralls in here," he waves around indicating the rather warm controlled temperature of the room.   
  
"Trying to get me naked, now? You know that's what got us into this mess," she teases, leaning even further over the counter towards him, her smile playful and just a tad seductive. And part of him wonders at the abrupt change in her mood, but mostly he has gotten used to it in the past few months.  
  
So, he just rolls with it instead and enjoys kissing the wonderful mother of his child to be, before leading her into the back room and helping her take off her steel toed boots and then strip out of the heavy (and rather cumbersome) overalls. (It's a slow day and the bell will alert him to any customers - and Audrey comes first anyway.) She is more tired than she lets on and it takes much less coaxing then he thought it would to get her to take a nap on the couch in the break room.  
  
Once she is asleep, Vin returns to the front - and his book. He glances at the cover for a moment, it's a simple book on pregnancy(one of many that he is sure have flooded the market) that he had picked up from the library - to very odd looks from the woman who had stamped the book. After all his taste were usually quite _varied_ \- but usually with a bent towards chemistry, not human biology.  
  
But, Audrey was special - and he wanted to do this right.

 

When they were growing up, since she was a few years younger than him and lived a few counties over their paths didn't cross - or shouldn't have really. Except she dated his friend for almost two years, what felt like _forever_ back in high school. It was something Vinny hadn't understood back then, how something long distant like that would be worth it. But Sweet always said that Audrey was different, that she wasn't like the girls at their school. That she knew who she was, what she wanted out of life.  
  
Vinny really hadn't gotten it then - but he hadn't known her, had only seen her picture - and Sweet always seemed smarter than him in some way anyway, so he had chalked it up to that sort of maturity. The guy had ended up getting his medical degree and joining Doctors Without Borders, after all. But (lucky for him) Sweet and Audrey had broken up in an incredibly amicable fashion when he was a Senior - they were even still good friends.   
  
  
It was until years later that he had run into her again while she was in town for her younger cousin's Quinceañera. Deemed hopeless at cooking and decorating by her aunts, she had been put on errand duty - one of which had been picking up a rather large order of flowers from his family's shop.  
  
And then, seeing her in person, he had finally gotten it. The way she talked, her sense of humor, her obvious strength and confidence. He had understood what Sweet had meant all along - why, even as a High School, a boy who could have had anyone, he had been willing to be in a long distance relationship with this girl.   
  
But, _she_ didn't know _him_ then. They had never met - and that was almost better in his mind because it allowed him to introduce himself without all the weird baggage and rumor the town might attach to him. Because while Sweet had had it all together - and gone off to college and then to help people - most of the town saw _him_ as a sort of burnout.   
  
That Santorini kid who worked in his parent's flower shop and liked to play around with weird chemicals in abandoned lots.  
  
The boy (although he was in his twenties) that had scared everyone half to death that one time when he blew up an old tree stump - and ended up making a huge crater and knocking out the electricity around half the block. Not to mention, the sound of the explosion, which set dogs barking and brought a few police cars around.  
  
....that had been fun though - it had been an awesome sight.  
  
But she hadn't known any of that then. She was just a beautiful woman in a tank top and worn jeans and he was just the guy in green-stained cargos helping her load her truck full of flowers, who had asked her out.  
  
And she said _yes_.  
  
When those parts of him were discovered later, he was astonished by her delight in his hobby instead of scorn. And she felt there was no shame in his working at the flower shop either - after all, she worked in her father's garage.   
  
Over three years later, there is a baby on the way, an engagement ring on her finger, and a sense of contentment - a sense that he is _whole_ when he looks at her (at them).   
  
Vinny, carefully finds the place where he left off in the book and continues reading.


End file.
